Eagles fly over Buckin’ Elks

The Elkin boys basketball team was tough to beat in the Mountain Valley Athletic Conference back in 2013, winning the regular season championship. Since then, the program has struggled, and unless the team wants to spend another season near the bottom of the conference standings, there are some things it needs to change.

Friday night was a rough one for the Buckin’ Elks, falling to Surry Central 76-44 to move to 0-7 on the season. Elkin started the night making shots, only trailing by seven at the end of the first quarter 16-9. However, the Golden Eagles put 31 points up on the board in the second quarter, and led 47-20 at halftime.

“[Surry Central] made five 3-pointers in the second quarter alone. We didn’t do a good job defensively, and we’re young in some aspect, and we didn’t protect the basketball,” Elkin Head Coach Kenneth Abrams said. “When you don’t protect the basketball and rebound, you’re going to get behind.”

Surry Central was strong on the boards, totalling 33 rebounds on the night, creating second-chance opportunities for itself, and eliminating any for Elkin. Despite a rough start, for all intents and purposes, the team is 0-1 in conference play, and is not going to throw in the towel any time soon on this year.

“We’re struggling right now, but we’re not going to give up,” Abrams said. “There is time, and you’ve got to believe that or you shouldn’t be in this line of work. Our goal is to get better each night.”

Up next for the Buckin’ Elks is a home matchup against Starmount Tuesday night in the second conference game of the season. In recent years, Starmount has had the edge, winning the past four contests. However, with it being a rivalry game, anything goes. Following that, the Buckin’ Elks travel to West Wilkes Friday night. Both games are slated for an 8 p.m. start.

Ryan DeCosta can be reached at 336-258-4052 or via Twitter @rsdecosta.